We're Not So Different

folks, we are back to talk about the Early Modern Period and why it was such an awful time to be alive unless you were in the absolute highest upper strata--and even then it wasn't great. we discuss it a lot in very vague terms, so we decided to do more of a deep dive about why it was so awful to live from about 1453-1800, not as a moral judgment of those people who lived at that time but instead because the birth of the modern world was an absolute horror show for the entire planet and you didn't even have modern medicine or air conditioning yet. this is when the Leviathan is born into the world

cover image is a stock photo of an edition of Hobbes' Leviathan

folks, we're back from Halloween with a new mailbag! this time, we answer questions about haircuts, 1066 and all that, the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse as humoral theory, new money, pet peeves, and more. enjoy!

folks, it's time for us to review Sam Raimi's 1992 cult classic Army of Darkness, starring Bruce Campbell. never has a movie that takes place exclusively in the Middle Ages cared so little about the setting but still largely nailed it regardless. set in 1300 CE in England, the movie is largely concerned with letting Bruce Campbell do great facial acting, Raimi's stop-motion fun, and slapstick. the Middle Ages are just a trapping, a setting used to illustrate the fish out of water nature of someone traveling to the distant past. and yet, it all works. Raimi doesn't care about historical accuracy but he does care about making the movie look good and sometimes that's enough. enjoy!

cover image is a skeleton playing a bone flute as the titular army of darkness besieges the castle

The hosts of American Prestige and We’re Not So Different join forces to examine one of the seminal events in world history: the Crusades. Season 2 focuses on the Second Crusade, oft overlooked among the first four crusades, requested by the Principality of Antioch–amongst others–in the wake of the fall of the County of Edessa to the forces of Zengi, an existential threat to the survival of the rest of the Crusader States. You’ll follow along with us on the journey from France and Germany to the Holy Land, Iberia, and Northern Europe as new fronts are opened up and the Catholic Church suffers an embarrassing defeat thanks to supposed betrayal and a series of nasty rumors against Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Episode 2: Mosul, 1146Two years later, as the Crusaders build up power and alliances in Europe, the Zengid Dynasty of Mosul suffers a massive setback when Zengi, its founder, is assassinated. We take a deep look at how the Muslim forces in the region responded to their loss during the First Crusade, the centralization efforts of Zengi and his son and successor, Nur al-Din, the continued deterioration of the Fatimids, and the state of the Second Crusade’s ultimate destination: Damascus.

cover image by James Montalbano

The hosts of American Prestige and We’re Not So Different join forces to examine one of the seminal events in world history: the Crusades. Season 2 focuses on the Second Crusade, oft overlooked among the first four crusades, requested by the Principality of Antioch–amongst others–in the wake of the fall of the County of Edessa to the forces of Zengi, an existential threat to the survival of the rest of the Crusader States. You’ll follow along with us on the journey from France and Germany to the Holy Land, Iberia, and Northern Europe as new fronts are opened up and the Catholic Church suffers an embarrassing defeat thanks to supposed betrayal and a series of nasty rumors against Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Episode 1: Jerusalem, 1144The Second Crusade begins in the Levant with Raymond of Poitiers and others calling out to Rome and the Catholic Church for a new crusade to avenge the loss of the County of Edessa to the Muslim forces of Zengi. We will discuss how all the major Christian players in the region, including the Crusader States, Byzantines, and Catholic Church have fared in the four decades since the end of the First Crusade.

cover image by James Montalbano